Hatteras Island Family Reconstruction Project

Hatteras Island (in current Dare County, but formerly in Hyde and Currituck) is a very unique place with an incredibly interesting history and geography as well.

• Hatteras Island is the location where the Lost Colonists indicated that they went, to join their friends, the Croatoan Indians.

• Hatteras Island has a long history of shipwrecks, with many families carrying the oral history that they descend from shipwreck victims.

• Hatteras Island has an equally long oral history that many of the current residents descend from the original residents, the Croatoan (later the Hatteras) Indians.

• Early records confirm his history in various ways.For example, by 1710, the Farrows, O'Neals, Hoopers and Wahabs were reported to be "half Indian and half English".

• The isolated geography of Hatteras Island served to discourage a lot of movement to the island after the initial land grants were awarded and free/cheap land was no longer available.

• The isolated geography prevented or discouraged intermarriage with people not island residents, creating a rather closed community, allowing us the unique opportunity to reconstruct the original island residents from their descendants today.

I have compiled a list of early island surnames from deeds, wills, tax lists, militia and other documents.These surnames represent the early island residents up through about 1800.We would like to be able to reconstruct the ethnicity of the earliest island families, especially the wives whose surnames have been lost to time.Using DNA, we will be able to reconstruct those families and help people who cannot identify their ancestors' families to reconnect.

If your Pinkham family descends from Hatteras Island families and you have a male who carries that surname today available to test (or who has already DNA tested), please join our Hatteras Fathers DNA project at http://www.familytreedna.com/public/HatterasFathers/default.aspxhttp://www.familytreedna.com/public/HatterasFathers/default.aspx

If your maternal Pinkham line, meaning your mother's mother's mother's line, on up the tree through women only on the maternal line extends back to Hatteras Island residents, you are eligible to join our Hatteras Mothers DNA project athttp://www.familytreedna.com/public/HatterasMothers/default.aspxhttp://www.familytreedna.com/public/HatterasMothers/default.aspx